Meet the product: World Account from WorldFirst

Doing business globally shouldn’t be complicated. Our friends at WorldFirst have launched their new and improved World Account, so you can stay in control of your finances with a real-time overview of your currency account balances, live market movements and your fixed FX transfer fee in one central dashboard.

World Account has been designed to help customers receive international funds with faster and easier cross-currency and same-currency payment capabilities. Free to open and maintain, World Account is the simple way to collect locally, convert, and make payments, anywhere in the world. We asked Theo Sprague at WorldFirst to tell us more:

What is World Account?

Free to open and maintain, the World Account is the simple way to collect, convert, and make payments locally, practically anywhere in the world. Designed with SMEs and online sellers in mind, it enables you to receive international funds, and make same-currency and cross-currency payments faster and easier, giving you more control than ever before.

What are the main benefits of a World Account

The World Account is a complete solution for your business when selling via online marketplaces, or to overseas customers. The World Account offers:

Free and easy account set up, to start receiving funds internationally with local currency accounts – without the need for local banking relationships
Free to receive money from international customers to your own GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, JPY, AUD, SGD, NZD, HKD & CNH accounts
Hold funds to pay suppliers, repatriate funds, and make international transfers
Seamless Xero integration for all your accounting needs
Transparent pricing from 0.15% to 0.50%
Dedicated account managers based in the UK to support you with any queries you may have
Flexible hedging solutions to help mitigate exchange rate risk and secure long-term profit margins

If your business regularly receives payments in different currencies from overseas customers or makes payments in different currencies to international suppliers, then the World Account is for you. Examples of when the World Account can assist you include:

Marketplace sellers
If you sell with online marketplaces such as Amazon, Rakuten, eBay, Newegg or Cdiscount, and want to save on transfer fees repatriating sales proceeds back to your local currency the World Account is for you. What’s more, you can hold currency to pay out to suppliers.
Online sellers
And it’s not just on marketplaces, if you sell internationally on your own websites and repatriate sales proceeds back to your local currency, the World Account is the simple way to collect, convert, and make payments locally, in key markets around the world.
Amazon Associates
If you make money from affiliate schemes such as Amazon Associates, earning referral fees from Amazon.com, you can receive payments in your local currency and then bring them home at low fixed rates.
Import/Export
If you are looking to send or receive money abroad when sourcing stock, then the World Account is a fast and secure way to send money internationally with low fees — much cheaper than using your regular bank.

With instant access to local currency accounts, it’s free to receive money into to your own local GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, JPY, AUD, SGD, NZD, HKD & CNH accounts.
Digital nomads and freelancers
If you are doing consultancy work or freelancing and getting paid by an overseas client the World Account enables you to repatriate income back to your local currency.
International service providers
If you are a service provider in foreign markets and want to offer clients an easy and cost-effective way to pay, the World Account enables you to offer local account details, as well as avoid transfer fees and currency conversion fees.

What’s new with World Account?

At WorldFirst, it’s not just about the big changes. We continually make small but transformative changes to our products to ensure we are always addressing our customer’s needs. We believe that changes big and small add up. Find out more on how we are leveraging innovation and technology to meet your needs and discover our latest product improvements.

Faster same-currency and cross-currency payments to speed up your supply chain
New and improved payment capabilities West to East, including payments into China
Seamless currency account management
Simple, single-view dashboard with real-time balances
On demand statements and proof of account ownership
Add payees (beneficiaries) easily with our smart new functionality
Easy-to-use live chat services with responses from our experts

How quickly can I set up overseas currency accounts with World Account?

World Account customers can open local currency accounts directly from the dashboard at the click of a button – and use straight away. Most requests will be activated instantly; but in some cases, this can take up to one business day. EUR and JPY will be activated within one business day.

Fast and free to set up, with no annual fees, deposit requirements or minimum transaction level
Open one or multiple local currency accounts online
Personalised account details, including your own unique account number under your business name

Tell us about your transparent pricing

It’s free to set-up your World Account, free to open multiple local currency accounts, free to get personalised account details, including your own unique account number, and free to receive money using those bank details. Your customers won’t be charged a fee to pay you locally, and you won’t be charged a fee to receive that payment

In 2019, WorldFirst rolled out a new pricing structure offering simplicity and transparency, with just three pricing tiers for all customers. With our new, standardised pricing, you receive a fixed fee based on your annual trading volume, using three clear FX margin bands applied across 28 currencies. All our fees are incorporated into the FX margin from as low as 0.15%

As well as simplicity and transparency, WorldFirst is up to 85% cheaper than high street banks.